Most helpful positive review

Update 13th October 2013: Following on from the questions raised by Teresa I have found that the new update on Garmin Express includes the voice British English Serena - This voice works with Garmin Real Directions and only those that state this function will work for real time directions. When you download this, all your British voices will disappear, leaving only 5, including French, Latvia etc. Open Garmin Express, click Devices, go to bottom and click languages, select English and update device. Takes about 5 minutes. All voices are then available on Sat Nav. Its a very easy fix.

Having owned the Garmin 3790T for 2 years and with some PPi cash burning a hole in my back pocket I decided splash my cash and update to the new 3597LMT. Garmin have done it again and produced a fantastic sat nav. The look and feel are even better than the 3790. The maps are, as always 5* and the ease of use makes this a dream to use. I've only used it a few times but cannot fault this machine. As with my last Garmin review, for the price you pay, you should get a case! In short, if you are looking to update your sat nav, you will not be dissapointed.

Delivery by Amazon was great. In the box, Sat Nav, Traffic Cable, In car Charger, Magnetic holder, window holder, USB cable and some leaflets...but no detailed instructions which is a shame.Sat Nav is ready to use from the box although you will need to carry out some firmware updates that took around 5 minutes via the Garmin website.First boot up took about 5 mintues to locate satellite after which it has been locating a satellite in under 10 seconds.The major difference with this model is that you now get a choice of 3 routes via the 'Where To?' tab, which was a much needed improvement.Maps are easy to use in, same pinch and zoom as 3790, cant fault this.Up ahead function is a very good idea - you can see shops, toilets, banks with a touch of a button.Route calculations are very quick and when you go off route the re-calculation were within a couple of seconds.Information on the maps is great, in some cases it shows exact bank name (barclays etc) rather than just cash point. This is also the same for petrol and shops. Locating near by attractions is a breeze and also phoning them is very easy once bluetooth turned on.Real voice commands 'left at star bucks' seems like a nice idea, but I have not yet heard it while driving around Cambridge.Bluetooth connecting is very simple and downloading contacts is straight forward - You must say the full name stored in your contacts while using voice command.Voice Command - Not a vast improvement from the 3790 but it still works well once you have it activated by your 'voice command' You can change the word you use to activate this, and this may work better with other words.Speed Cameras are great as is the audio warning when going over the limit with the plus of the MPH turning a nice warm red to warn you.Smartphone link (I'm using Iphone) is very easy to use and is an excellent feature. You can view current weather in your current position as well as the weather where you are going. There are some added features that you have to pay for (about £3 an item) which I've not yet used but think the PhotoLive option could be worth a punt.Traffic - Not had any jams to review this but you see it updating itself every few seconds so much better than the previous FM receiver where traffic was an hour out of date.Battery life is good, but as you will have it plugged in the car, you wont really need to see how long its going to last. Speaking of which, the in car charger cable is a little too thick like the previous model but when using the Garmin bean bag holder, you wont have the cable in your face.Magnetic Holder makes it a breeze to connect to your mount and the device turns on within a second when engine switched on. The only downside is I found the magnet to be a little too strong to pull off, but I may just need to get the hang of using it.Overall, I am so pleased with the updates Garmin have made in the last 2 years since my last model. The price is very high, but when you take into account the life time free maps, free traffic and smartphone link services, I think its great value for an excellent SatNav.

Update - the Garmin 3598 with HD Traffic is now on sale at Halfords - The 3597 (this model) does everything the 3598 does excluding the HD traffic, so if you are after a Jam busting Sat Nav, then pay the extra £20 and get the 3598 from Halfords - Having said that, The traffic on the 3597 does update itself very quickly. Garmin claim 2-4 minutes but I have sen it update quicker while HD is 30 seconds. It all depends on what you view as accurate traffic data and how often you rely on this. The source of both the HD and live traffic data is the same, its just how it gets sent to you.

Sound issue - If you remove the Sat Nav from the Magnetic holder, it will auto shutdown in 15 seconds but allows you to press cancel - If you press cancel and then attach it back to the Mag holder, the sat nav seems to lock on Mute and the only way I have found to resolve this is to shut down and re-boot. Sound works fine if you remove it and press cancel shut down and listen via the sat nav itself, only when you re-attach it does it seem to go on mute - I may be doing something wrong myself here but with no Manual, its hard to work out.

rating is still 5 stars, I love the new route options and recalculations are so fast you dont even notice if you go off route.

Most helpful critical review

Slightly disappointing.Not as intuitive as my previous Garmins particularly when diverting from the original route.Also, there is a problem with the guidance system where instruction delivery breaks up in mid sentence.

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Update 13th October 2013: Following on from the questions raised by Teresa I have found that the new update on Garmin Express includes the voice British English Serena - This voice works with Garmin Real Directions and only those that state this function will work for real time directions. When you download this, all your British voices will disappear, leaving only 5, including French, Latvia etc. Open Garmin Express, click Devices, go to bottom and click languages, select English and update device. Takes about 5 minutes. All voices are then available on Sat Nav. Its a very easy fix.

Having owned the Garmin 3790T for 2 years and with some PPi cash burning a hole in my back pocket I decided splash my cash and update to the new 3597LMT. Garmin have done it again and produced a fantastic sat nav. The look and feel are even better than the 3790. The maps are, as always 5* and the ease of use makes this a dream to use. I've only used it a few times but cannot fault this machine. As with my last Garmin review, for the price you pay, you should get a case! In short, if you are looking to update your sat nav, you will not be dissapointed.

Delivery by Amazon was great. In the box, Sat Nav, Traffic Cable, In car Charger, Magnetic holder, window holder, USB cable and some leaflets...but no detailed instructions which is a shame.Sat Nav is ready to use from the box although you will need to carry out some firmware updates that took around 5 minutes via the Garmin website.First boot up took about 5 mintues to locate satellite after which it has been locating a satellite in under 10 seconds.The major difference with this model is that you now get a choice of 3 routes via the 'Where To?' tab, which was a much needed improvement.Maps are easy to use in, same pinch and zoom as 3790, cant fault this.Up ahead function is a very good idea - you can see shops, toilets, banks with a touch of a button.Route calculations are very quick and when you go off route the re-calculation were within a couple of seconds.Information on the maps is great, in some cases it shows exact bank name (barclays etc) rather than just cash point. This is also the same for petrol and shops. Locating near by attractions is a breeze and also phoning them is very easy once bluetooth turned on.Real voice commands 'left at star bucks' seems like a nice idea, but I have not yet heard it while driving around Cambridge.Bluetooth connecting is very simple and downloading contacts is straight forward - You must say the full name stored in your contacts while using voice command.Voice Command - Not a vast improvement from the 3790 but it still works well once you have it activated by your 'voice command' You can change the word you use to activate this, and this may work better with other words.Speed Cameras are great as is the audio warning when going over the limit with the plus of the MPH turning a nice warm red to warn you.Smartphone link (I'm using Iphone) is very easy to use and is an excellent feature. You can view current weather in your current position as well as the weather where you are going. There are some added features that you have to pay for (about £3 an item) which I've not yet used but think the PhotoLive option could be worth a punt.Traffic - Not had any jams to review this but you see it updating itself every few seconds so much better than the previous FM receiver where traffic was an hour out of date.Battery life is good, but as you will have it plugged in the car, you wont really need to see how long its going to last. Speaking of which, the in car charger cable is a little too thick like the previous model but when using the Garmin bean bag holder, you wont have the cable in your face.Magnetic Holder makes it a breeze to connect to your mount and the device turns on within a second when engine switched on. The only downside is I found the magnet to be a little too strong to pull off, but I may just need to get the hang of using it.Overall, I am so pleased with the updates Garmin have made in the last 2 years since my last model. The price is very high, but when you take into account the life time free maps, free traffic and smartphone link services, I think its great value for an excellent SatNav.

Update - the Garmin 3598 with HD Traffic is now on sale at Halfords - The 3597 (this model) does everything the 3598 does excluding the HD traffic, so if you are after a Jam busting Sat Nav, then pay the extra £20 and get the 3598 from Halfords - Having said that, The traffic on the 3597 does update itself very quickly. Garmin claim 2-4 minutes but I have sen it update quicker while HD is 30 seconds. It all depends on what you view as accurate traffic data and how often you rely on this. The source of both the HD and live traffic data is the same, its just how it gets sent to you.

Sound issue - If you remove the Sat Nav from the Magnetic holder, it will auto shutdown in 15 seconds but allows you to press cancel - If you press cancel and then attach it back to the Mag holder, the sat nav seems to lock on Mute and the only way I have found to resolve this is to shut down and re-boot. Sound works fine if you remove it and press cancel shut down and listen via the sat nav itself, only when you re-attach it does it seem to go on mute - I may be doing something wrong myself here but with no Manual, its hard to work out.

rating is still 5 stars, I love the new route options and recalculations are so fast you dont even notice if you go off route.

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Just an updateAfter updating the software the unit has lost the voice that gave the Real Directions.I was advised to reinstall the software but still no Real Directions.Still in contact with Garmin support but problem not solved yet.

An extremely clear display, finds the satellites very quickly. Some very good features like showing the speed limit of the road you are on and warning you if you exceed the limit, (accidentally of course). There are occasions when the unit does not match the actual speed limit of the road. The 2 worst examples are in Cambourn , Cambridgeshire where the sat nav has 60mph and the actual is 30mph. The other is in Barton , Cambridgeshire where the limit has recently been reduced to 30 from 40mph. So if you stick to 40 you will be caught by the speed camera there. So watch out for the actual limit as you should.The unit does not say " recalculating " something I welcome, it just adjusts to the new route when you go wrong.Lane guidance feature---- I have still to find a lane where it will give me visual guidance but it does tell me well in advance what turn to take at junctions and roundabouts. My old nuvi310 used to sometimes leave it quite late at times. I also bought for this unit the dashboard mount which is far more versatile than the enclosed screen mount, this together with the magnetic fixing on the unit saves time setting up the unit in the car.I do not have a smart phone but did enquire on the Garmin website if in future the Smartlink feature can be used on an iPhone as well as Android at the moment. They replied than Smartlink is now available on iPhone as well.All in all just be aware of the few problems at the minute, this is a very good unit and I recommend you get one. You won't be disappointed.

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Had this product for a couple of days now and still can't help but love it's sleek looks and high quality finish, something which has not gone unnoticed from work colleagues who have mistaken it for a new top end smartphone when I've walked into the office with it.

I've taken it out for the few car journeys I've made since getting it and am so far thoroughly impressed. This is replacing a Garmin Nuvi 660 that has lasted me 6 years and has gone out of service thanks to a combination of my rough treatment and issues with the OLD Garmin map updating software. I was always impressed and happy with the old Nuvi 660, but obviously didn't know what I was missing out on! The new map update software Garmin Express is a great improvement and works well for easy updates, although it would be nice to see the ability to do safety camera updates from within the same software instead of having to log into the Garmin dashboard separately.

The Nuvi 3597 speaks lane directions as I approach junctions with things like "in a quarter of a mile take either of the two left hand lanes and turn left". This spoken lane guidance means less time taking my eyes off the road to stare at the visual information (which is there as well). The real voice tech also comes up with instructions such as "turn right at the traffic lights".

Instead of spending ages powering up the 3597 uses a sleep mode which seems to have next to no effect on the battery (in tests so far) but means almost instant power up times.

The new docking system is one of the best features, hold it near to the dock and the powerful magnet pulls it onto the dock seating it perfectly for the connections for power and traffic data to work. Taking it off the dock is just as easy... just pull and off it comes.

Still looking through some of the features like the smartphone link (app downloaded and connecting properly but I haven't yet had time to explore exactly what that offers). A slight disappointment for me this time round was the lack of an AC adapter / charger in the box, so you can't charge it up at home to use without the in car power cable, which means shelling out another £20 (although if you want to use the traffic information you will need the in car power cable plugged in anyway).

With the voice command tech you can search for points of interest such as restaurants, call and make reservations whilst driving all without removing a hand from the wheel (subject to connecting your mobile via bluetooth).

Another nice feature is the mapping zooming in as you approach a junction and then automatically zooming back out as you have cleared the junction to show the route to the next instruction.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone looking for a higher end product or with a like of all things gadget and techy.

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I bought this to replace a TomTom that was repeatedly freezing. I have now had it for about three weeks and here are my observations:

I like: The appearance - it's sleek, easily portable, with a very clear screen. The magnetic mount. So easy and quick to set up and to detach. The instructions that tell you to "turn left at the traffic lights" etc. The lane guidance - "be in either of the two right-hand lanes" etc. The "photos" of road signs at major junctions. Its responsiveness picking up a satellite signal, and also re-calculating a route if you deviate. The display that tells you at the bottom what road you are on, and at the top the road you will join next.

I don't like so much: The fact that it gives you the names of roads, not their numbers. For major roads the A or B numbers would be far more useful. After all, when you need to leave a major road, the sign at the junction will not give you the name of the road you are joining, rather its number.

The voice directions feature is really hit and miss. It works well for my favourites, but dictate an address and it often comes up with something quite different - and I think I speak quite clearly!

I'm also not that impressed by the traffic alerts. My old TomTom, with its Live HD Traffic (admittedly, which you have to pay for annually) would show up congested traffic ahead of you, or even in the opposite lane, whereas the Nuvi, with its lifetime free traffic information, only advises if there is a major accident or roadworks on your projected journey. Many times It has told me that there are no traffic delays ahead, when on my route there has been congestion and very slow-moving traffic. You really don't get an accurate picture of the state of the roads.

As with any satnav that I have ever used, it isn't particularly good at giving the fastest or shortest route, and sometimes it's recommendations are puzzling: I have been literally driven round the houses to reach a particular destination, and sometimes I wonder how the routes are planned. Still, it always gets you there in the end, and after all, that's what satnavs are for!

In conclusion, I do like this piece of equipment. I bought it as it was a "Which?" Best Buy, and because of many reviews on this site, but possibly I could have got something cheaper that was just as good. It only remains to be seen how long it lasts...

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Slightly disappointing.Not as intuitive as my previous Garmins particularly when diverting from the original route.Also, there is a problem with the guidance system where instruction delivery breaks up in mid sentence.

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I will update the review once I have managed to use the device properly. However my initial reaction is one of frustration.

Device looks nice. Great crisp screen and smooth touch navigation. I tested the voice command and it was touch and go. I had the TV on quietly in the background and this prevented it from registering my commands. I would imagine therefore that using the device with a radio on in the background may also cause some issues.

I received the device yesterday and was fully expecting to have to update the maps initially, and I was expecting this to take around 4 hours, so none of this was an issue.

However what is frustrating and totally unexpected was to get a message whilst downloading/installing the updates warning that there is not enough free memory on the device to actually download all the latest updates.

Surely this is vital? Selling a device that does not contain enough memory to receive it's own latest updates would mean that the device may not be considered fit for purpose?

I was at this point given two options, either insert and SD card, which I didn't have at the time. Whilst not particularly expensive I didn't really expect to have to buy additional extras just to get the device to work as it should with the latest up to date maps.

Alternatively I was given the option of having the device remove files that I wouldn't need, for example speech files for the many foreign languages the device can speak. Again frustrating to have to do so, but not a huge loss.

This was the route I decided to take (no pun intended). I sat up until 1am waiting for the 4 hour install to complete, which all seemed to go fine.

However today upon switching the device on it appears that the option of removing "unrequired" files has now disabled the voice command option, as this is apparently not "supported by British English Language". I then checked the actual language setting to see that all the English language variations had been removed from the selectable options. It had set itself to Danish by default, leaving me with a few other foreign language options, and no English, other than English Text directions and menus.

So now I have to roll the whole thing back, hopefully restoring it to it's initial factory supplied default settings and then will have to purchase an additional SD card and go through the whole process again.

End of the world? No. Waste of about 12 hours. Yes. What you expect from a £250 sat nav? Definitely not.

If I cannot roll it back to the prior setting then it will be going back. If I can then I will update the review once I actually get the thing working and set up correctly!

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I got to replace another brand where the battery had stopped holding its charge which was annoying. This is good and simple to use - it still takes me into country lanes that I would rather avoid and some of the warnings come too soon - but that apart it is a brilliant little machine and I love its slimness and the magnetic dashboard holder.

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Bought as a replacement for an earlier model, (That one is 6 years old and still works but not so many gizmos hence the upgrade).All functions are good except I have a few issues downloading updates from Website, not always clear but eventually works.)Bluetooth function good and links to Internet through Garmin App excellent.You do get what you pay for. Unlike my old one you can even change the voices! (Ok so TomTom lovers always could)

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Bought as a gift for my wife, and she loves it.I can see why Which? rates this as the best Sat Nav they have ever tested.It has a real quality feel to it, a clear and bright screen and a very accurate touch-screen.The magnetic attachment system is great.My wife had no problems with loading/using the software on her netbook.

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The Garmin nuvi 3597LMT was a purchase I had to make because my older Garmin Nuvi 660 which has done sterling service since February 2008 could no longer cope with the new mapping across Europe + that of the UK even with an extra SD card. Living in the Slovak Republic and coming back to the UK needs a full and comprehensive map installed. I can now say that this is the best Garmin so far that I have been involved with.

On the first trip in the UK from York to Bath I did have some issues with adjusting to the new map scale shown on the nuvi screen. On the way back from Bath to York the full power of the Garmin came into play. Traffic issues on a Friday afternoon started to appear on the screen within an hour of leaving Bath. Clearly at a key motorway junction on the A1/M18 there must have been a very serious accident. Although this was a very long way away, in both time and mileage, I was prepared for the worst. The worst happened as we drove up the M1. All the traffic was being diverted off the A1M Northbound on to the M1 - At least I was prepared for the resulting crawl. Once on the M18 traffic moved more reasonably. When the A1/M18 interchange was reached my Garmin nuvi 3597LMT correctly diverted me straight on for York. Vehicles which did not have the traffic information were still driving down the A1 slip road and then into the resulting queue to be diverted back on to the M18 as the A1 was totally closed down. The Garmin nuvi 3597LMT was already staring to pay for itself.

Then on to another test. I flew to Bratislava from Liverpool and then had to get a Taxi to quite an obscure industrial park to pick up my own car. When the Taxi driver arrived, sure enough he did not have a clue as to where this destination was. Out came my Garmin nuvi 3597LMT and the taxi driver was very happy to be guided to the car parking point. I climbed in to my car, dumped the garmin friction mount on my sloping ageing Passat dashboard and plugged the unit in to the power supply. Tapped the screen to ' GO HOME ' and within 5 seconds we were being guided back to Banska Bystrica and our home flat. The Slovak Republic mapping is now superb. Of course there are some issues when it comes to the local councils changing one way streets around or defining new pedestrian zones but that can happen in the UK as well. So although the Garmin nuvi 3597LMT knew our courtyard it did not know the quickest way through the one way jungle. Once I had driven past the junction with the problem on the map, the unit recalculated the final 3K correctly in less than 3 seconds.

I have now had time to resolve the Bluetooth issues in connecting my ageing HTC sensation to the Garmin. The technical glitch was in fact in the HTC settings. I needed to de-tick one obscure bluetooth setting so that it did not keep asking for permission to connect to the Garmin unit.

Would the ' VOICE COMMAND ' work. Could this feature simply be a gimmick? That was the next challenge. I was sceptical to say the least. After understanding that I did not have to speak like a robot all I can say is this >>>>>> It is a brilliant feature. Saving me time and frustration of touching the screen and screwing up the input. Now I climb in to my car, let the magnetic mount connect the unit and within seconds say ' open voice command ' Then if I want to go home I simply say ' GO HOME ' and the unit is set up and guiding me home before I have got the car in gear !!!!!! I was having trouble with starting one favourite route.......... It was only after my wife pointed out that I was speaking the number in Slovak instead of English that the penny dropped. Funny how I simply had not realised that I was saying 15 in a foreign language to the unit !!! Although I am sure I can get the Garmin to work in Slovak that would without question confuse the system even more by trying to talk to it in Yorkshire accented Slovak.

To sum up. The Garmin nuvi 3597LMT has surpassed my expectations so far. Garmin support has been extremely helpful in resolving a few misunderstandings on my side. I will update this review as an when I can. John Skelton in exile in the Slovak Republic............